Lea Hernandez: The Garlicks

Kids refusing to follow their parents into the family business is a time-honored tradition in fiction and in real life. But what if your parents are vampires and you’d rather do your own thing? That’s the fun premise behind Lea Hernandez’s new Indiegogo project, The Garlicks.

Hernandez is an award-winning writer/artist who’s already notched five graphic novels so she knows what she’s doing. Lea has a terrific cartooning style that’s bright, expressive and full of fun, perfect for vampire comedy. And she’s got a pile of fans that include Neil Gaiman, Jim Lee and Kurt Busiek, who all know a good thing when they see it.

And you will too, once you head over to Indiegogo and have a look.

[Artwork: The Garlicks, © Lea Hernandez]

Kickstarter: The Garlicks by Lea Hernandez

I love funny stuff and after reading about Lea Hernandez’s new Kickstarter program for her graphic novel, The Garlicks, I knew I wanted it.

According to Lea’s PR material, The Garlicks is “a webcomic/graphic novel about a vampire girl, for girls.” But guys apparently dig it too and it’s a lot of fun. You can check out some archived strips at the Garlicks website.

Lea’s going to serialize three color pages each week on her site and the Kickstarter fund is to finance those strips and the publication of the first story into a nice 148-page trade, with an introduction by Scary Godmother’s Jill Thompson.

But what is The Garlicks? Says Lea, “It’s a vampire tale, told from the POV of Pandora, a vampire with zero vampire abilities and the big sister of baby Pamila (who's usually called Ham), who seems to have gotten everything Pandora  didn't, like being able to shapeshift into an adorable flying fish and eat meat.”

Click to continue reading Kickstarter: The Garlicks by Lea Hernandez

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WEBCOMICS WEDNESDAY: Karen Ellis, Barack Obama & Mark Ricketts

Hey all, before we take a look at some webcomics, there’s a webcartoonist out there who could use a helping hand. KAREN ELLIS, who does the webcomic Planet Karen, recently lost everything she had in a fire that started in the apartment above her. She’s really got nothing except the desire to get drawing again and put her life back together. Supporters can head over to her website and make a PayPal contribution (label it “gift” not “donation”) and help her out. Times are tough and money’s tight, but we are all just one faulty light socket away from tragedy ourselves. Lea Hernandez, who lost her worldly goods in a fire a couple of years ago has a terrific post about things that can and should be done to help out others in a situation like this. Benefit book? Bad. Cash? Really good!
(h/t to the gang over @ Fleen)

BARACK OBAMA: Well, it had to happen. After appearing in both Spider-Man and Youngblood #8 (by Rob Liefeld), President Barack Obama is now the star of a once-a-week webcomic, President Awesome. This one’s by writer Dean Trippe (creator of Butterfly) and Evan Bryce. It’s too early to tell where this will go (the Weapon O one is funny because it feels so true), but it’s not too early to bookmark it and keep checking in. Once thing’s for certain, Bryce has no trouble drawing Mr. Obama.
(h/t to Heidi MacDonald @ The Beat)

MOOSE MOUNTAIN: If you’ve known Mark Ricketts through his graphic novels like Night Trippers and Crime Scene Forensics, you’ll see a different side of him on top of Moose Mountain. Moose Mountain is the tale of naïve, gullible Ranger Todd who patrols the woods around Moose Mountain National Park. Ricketts hit a milestone last month of 100 strips. He posts every Tuesday and Thursday, and yes, there are talking bears.

MASSACRE FOR BOYS: Jimmy Baker Animal Hatmaker runs up against an old Nazi nemesis at the London Zoo. And yes, Gorillas and animal headgear are involved. Written by Chris Denton and Illustrated by Steven Denton (the lads behind Walking Wounded) this isn’t an ongoing comic but it’s an offbeat, short read from a couple of guys who are outside the box.

That’s all for this week - more next time. And if you have a favorite webcomic, feel free to champion its cause in the comments. Otherwise, I’ll just have to spend hours and hours surfing, reading and searching for my new favorites!
(illustration from Planet Karen and © Karen Ellis)